1,200+ North Texans inspired by Dallas teen's story register to donate bone marrow
DALLAS - More than a thousand North Texans showed up Sunday morning to try to find a bone marrow donor for a Dallas teen battling a form of blood cancer.
13-year-old Pike Peterson was diagnosed with Leukemia after coming home from church camp last month.
It flipped the active teen's world upside down, and he had to trade in sports for chemotherapy.
Dallas teen searching for a bone marrow donor match
A 13-year-old Dallas boy fighting an aggressive form of leukemia hopes his story will inspire people to take part in a bone marrow donor registration drive this weekend.
12,244 people went to Pike's church, Park Cities Baptist, this Sunday to fill out paperwork and have their mouths swabbed to see if they are a potential bone marrow match.
"It’s been so affirming, and we’re just so proud and feel the warmth from everybody participating. You know, our message is, if they’re not a match for Pike, they’re going to be a match or someone else across the globe," said Paul Petersen, Pike's dad.
Finding a bone marrow donor is a tough task, there is less than a 50 percent chance someone who registered to donate shares the same blood stem cells.
1960 Olympic gold medal winner Earl Young has helped register about 22,000 people through his foundation and has found over 100 life-saving matches.
He founded the nonprofit after he received a bone marrow transplant.
Now he's supporting the Petersen family.
"For every 10 people that could have continued life with a transplant, only four of those find a match, six don’t find a match. Sad side of that is, it’s because of awareness," said Young.
Pike Petersen
On Friday, the Petersens got the news that Pike is in remission.
While that is great progress, Pike's dad says it still doesn't change the trajectory of the teen's life.
The teen will still need three rounds of chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant to survive.
Everyone who registered in Dallas on Sunday will be entered into the donor pool.
They will find out if they are a match for Pike or someone else around the world in 4 to 6 weeks.
If you would like to order a free at-home testing kit click here.